Heart of a Leader
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and forty-one: Bon Jovi 5/7 They made him the leader, he's just trying to see himself that way too, thinking of family and future.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th cycle. Now cycle 12!_

_So I've been wanting to do an artist showcase for a while, and then a few weeks ago a friend had a whole lot of Bon Jovi CDs in her car and I went "That is perfect!" So I chose seven songs, and… Here we go!_  
**5 of 7: "Have a Nice Day"**

* * *

**"Heart of a Leader"  
Finn**

He'd never known how much his mother's words would be so very, very true. She used to tell him that life would sometimes lead you down very difficult paths, but it would always have a reason, and if it chose you… He used to see it as a way for her to get him to understand in part the reason he didn't have his father anymore. The more he grew though, the more he saw it applied just as much to where he himself was concerned.

It had all sort of snuck up on him, the way the club would come to rely on him, call on him to find a way… They'd made him a leader, and he'd never asked for it. All these things had come to pile themselves on him, and still he had no out, they would continue to look to him. He'd tried and fought against it, but then Mr. Schuester's words, his mother's words… They'd all shown him for all the fight he put up, he knew it was his place. It might have scared him, but it was his.

He'd had a lot to think about, after he'd found out he was not in fact about to be a father. All of a sudden it was as though the removed burden had left him too light and he'd lost track of his path. It took a while for his feet to reach the ground and, on the way down, he'd been left to think about some things.

He thought about this life he had, in Lima, with his mother there and his father gone… He'd always thought about what would happen 'later,' after high school… College, work, life… Would he leave town for college? Not many of them did, and the ones that did generally had something going for them, things he didn't have. His grades were lacking, his sports were failing… That left Glee Club, and even there he wasn't sure if he had enough to show… There was the dance issue…

Every time he thought about leaving Lima, he thought about his parents. If he hadn't been killed, his father would no doubt have come home to his wife and his son… maybe have had another kid or two… They would have been plenty happy just staying in Lima all their lives.

He liked it too, that was the thing. Even if he may have wanted to go off and get a good education, find his way to a worthy career, when it came down to it, he'd probably end up right back in Lima, and was that such a bad thing?

It was home, had been all his life. He knew it, from one end to the other; that was how it felt sometimes. He was never lost; he always knew where he was going and where he had been, and to him that meant a whole lot. He'd lived all his life knowing how precious memories could be. Memories had allowed him to get in touch with some part of his father. Lima didn't just hold memories of his life, but those of Christopher and Carole Hudson.

Sometimes he'd think that way, and other times he'd think how maybe that line of thought could possibly be holding him back, away from things he was supposed to do, be a part of… outside of Lima, Ohio. Those kinds of ideas were supposed to be scary, right? Didn't the fear mean that it was what he was supposed to do, and that he knew it?

All these thoughts, they just kept on flipping up and about in his mind, for a good while. It'd give him this headache, and he'd keep telling himself he didn't really need to think about it, not yet, but then he'd wonder if he did need to think about it right away, and the whole cycle would start all over again.

He must have been wearing it right on his face, the things he'd tell himself and the ones he didn't even think of, because one day Mr. Schuester had asked if something was wrong. Finn hadn't told him anything… wouldn't even have known where to begin. Mr. Schuester had given it another try, but Finn had insisted it was alright, and Mr. Schuester had left it alone.

The next day he'd found a couple sheets, folded and tucked into his locker. It was a song, with a note from Mr. Schuester, telling him to prepare it for next rehearsal. Finn wasn't sure what was going on, but he went with it, and when rehearsal came, he got up and did his song.

_[F] "Why, you wanna tell me how to live my life? / Who, are you to tell me if it's black or white? / Mama, can you hear me? Try to understand. / Is innocence the difference between a boy and a man. / My daddy lived the lie, it's just the price that he paid. / Sacrificed his life, just slavin' away._

_Ohhh, if there's one thing I hang onto, / That gets me through the night. / I ain't gonna do what I don't want to, / I'm gonna live my life. / Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice, / Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly. / When the world gets in my face, / I say, Have A Nice Day. / Have A Nice Day_

_Take a look around you; nothing's what it seems / We're living in the broken home of hopes and dreams, / Let me be the first to shake a helping hand. / Anybody brave enough to take a stand, / I've knocked on every door, on every dead end street, / Looking for forgiveness, / what's left to believe?_

_Ohhh, if there's one thing I hang onto, / That gets me through the night. / I ain't gonna do what I don't want to, / I'm gonna live my life. / Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice, / Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly. / When the world gets in my face, / I say, Have A Nice Day. / Have A Nice Day._

_Ohhh, if there's one thing I hang onto, / That gets me through the night. / I ain't gonna do what I don't want to, / I'm gonna live my life. / Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice, / Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly. / When the world gets in my face, / I say, Have A Nice Day. / Have A Nice Day. / Have A Nice Day._

_When The world keeps trying, to drag me down, / I've gotta raise my hands, gonna stand my ground. / Well I say, Have A Nice Day. / Have A Nice Day / Have A Nice Day"_

He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt better after. The thoughts weren't gone, but they didn't weigh so much. He'd continue to listen to those around him, and hopefully his way would reveal itself.

THE END


End file.
